1. Technical Field
The invention relates to the field of power bidirectional switches. It more particularly applies to a new type of monolithic bidirectional switch.
2. Background Art
In prior art, the triac is the only existing monolithic bidirectional switch. The advantages and drawbacks of triac devices are well known to those skilled in the art. For example, one of the drawbacks of a triac is that current flow is blockable only during the zero-crossing of the current. It is therefore impossible to use a triac to block an overcurrent condition in case of load shorting.
Thus, in numerous applications, in consideration of the drawbacks of the triac, non-monolithic devices are used as a bidirectional switch, for example: a thyristor or a MOS transistor or a power bipolar transistor arranged in a rectifying a set of two power bipolar transistors having commonly connected collectors; or a pair of power MOS transistors with commonly connected sources.